Yale Door Locks: Is NFC the Next Big Thing in Home Tech?

Simply swipe your smart phone against the NFC-enabled Yale door lock for easy access ... assuming you have the right electronic credentials.

By Julie Jacobson, September 19, 2011

Soon you'll be able to open your doors simply by holding a smartphone near the lock, thanks to new consumer-grade NFC-enabled door locks from Yale.NFC (near field communication) is a fast-growing technology that enables simple data exchanges between two devices in close proximity.

Today, the technology is used almost exclusively in commercial applications, for example, to provide product information when users hold their smartphones near an NFC-enabled poster. NFC also is gaining traction for mobile payment and is the technology behind Google Wallet, expected to launch today with much fanfare.

During CEDIA Expo 2011, Yale demonstrated what appears to be the first consumer door lock that employs near field communication - just hold your NFC-enabled smartphone near the lock and the latch responds, as long as you have the right permissions.

But the NFC demonstration at CEDIA Expo 2011 was a first for the company, and possibly the industry. It appears NFC is headed to automated devices both in the commercial and residential spaces. Yale seemed to be the only CEDIA exhibitor this year to showcase NFC for residential applications, but AMX also is embedding the technology in its forthcoming line of Modero X touchpanels for commercial and big residential jobs.

Yale's product is "a very simple system," says Kraus. "You don’t need a back-end; you don’t need to use the Web.”

That is the case even though Yale demonstrated its new locks during CEDIA with partner Control4. While the locks work fine as standalone NFC devices, integrating them with home automation brings additional functionality. Yale showed, for example, how a Control4 touchscreen responded when someone accessed (or tried to access) a smart lock.

For this edition of Throwback Thursday, we look back at newly released projectors at CEDIA Expo 2011, including 3D and 4K models.

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About the Author

Julie Jacobson, Co-Founder, EH Publishing / Editor-at-large, CE Pro

Julie Jacobson, recipient of the 2014 CEA TechHome Leadership Award, is co-founder of EH Publishing, producer of CE Pro, Electronic House, Commercial Integrator, Security Sales and other leading technology publications. She currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. She's a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player currently residing in Carlsbad, Calif. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson. [More by Julie Jacobson]

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Comments
(displayed in order by date/time)

Posted by A Ross on 09/19 at 07:16 PM

I guess the case has the NFC chip as none of the current iPhones have one built in.

Posted by Julie Jacobson on 09/20 at 08:04 AM

Blackberry appears to be the most aggressive with NFC, not surprisingly since security is their claim to fame.

Posted by adrian charles on 10/06 at 09:12 AM

I think this phone will shape the future for the good of mankind, i also think this phone will prevent major crimes.